Vakna Unin Alagaesia
by NimbusMM
Summary: Three Siblings from the USA get transported to Alagaesia,where they are found by Eragon and Saphira.What will happen? Takes place midway through Brisinger.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, this is my first Fan Fic! I am writing another story (which is not written or published anywhere except in my head and my notebook), but this story invaded my head. It, keeps invading my head, so I decided to write my story, and to write this as a fanfic to keep it from controlling my thoughts all the time. It might take a while to update, though, because I wrote a lot of it, but then read it over and discovered that most of my characters were Mary-sues. So now I have to re-write it and figure out how to give my characters their awesome qualities without making them a bunch of marry-sues, which can be depressing sometimes. I hope you like this chapter though! **

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 1

'Julia, put the book down and come over here!" my coach yelled.

"Fine!" I yelled back. I slammed the book, the Forging of the Sword, shut and ran to join my teammates before the game.

One pep talk later, I grabbed my mitt and ran onto the softball field, ready for our first game of the day against the Black Dragons. I stepped onto the mound, wound up, and then threw the ball to my catcher, but my mind was not on the game. Rather, it was still in my book where the Hrum were preparing to invade Farsala's major city. I am an avid reader, and read about 5-7 300+ page books per week.

"comin' down!" My catcher yelled, and I threw another pitch, and then ducked as the catcher threw the ball over my head to 2nd base. The second baseman threw the ball back to me as my team chanted

"3 UP, 3 DOWN, NOBODY GETS AROUND!." I stepped onto the mound as the batter got into her stance and the umpire yelled" Play Ball!" I waited for the catcher to give me the signal for a fastball, and adjusted my grip on the ball. Then, I wound up and released the ball as the world went into slow motion. The ball slowly sped toward the catcher as the batter swung. The ball collided with the bat and the ball came rushing toward me. I desperately tried to put my mitt up, but failed. The softball, soft in name only, slammed into my forehead and dropped to the ground. Everything went black and the last thing I remembered were my knees buckling as I fell to the ground.

I awoke who-knows-how-much-later in what appeared to be a forest with a older teenager about 16 or 17, a year or two older than me, sitting on a tree stump near me, turned toward what seemed large and blue, among the trees.

The teenager's voice said" that's all I can do for her Saphira. I wish there was some way to find out who she was though."

After saying this, the teenager turned around and I realized he was not actually quite human. He had pointed ears, smooth, flawless skin, and no facial hair, or signs of it, even though he was about 16 or was even stranger though, was the way he dressed. The person had on a blue tunic, with white leggings underneath. He had a bow and quiver slung over his right shoulder and a sword hanging from his left side. The belt holding the sword was black and studded with about a dozen gems and the sheath holding the sword was dark blue and engraved with weird writing. From what I could see of the sword, the hilt was a lighter colored blue metal with an intricate design on it and it had a large sapphire embedded in the pommel.

The boy glanced at me and seeing I was awake, walked quickly toward me smiling and saying, "AH, she awakes!"

I tried to quickly sit up, but immediately felt dizzy and lay back down. I tried sitting up more slowly and this time I could without feeling dizzy. The boy asked, "How is your head."

Remembering what had happened, I gingerly put my hand to my forehead, but it was fine. Completely confused, I looked at the boy and asked, " Who are you, where am I, and why is my head okay!?!"

So what did you think? I know it's short. I decided to make the first chapter a cliff hanger because I am too lazy to keep re-writing more. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again to all my readers. I want to say thank you to my great reviewers, AdurnaBrisinger, and Drak Phionez. Thanks! I said I probably wouldn't update for a while, but two hours after I published the story, I got reviews, which made me inspired, so I stayed up until past midnight writing this chapter. Also in my summary, I said three siblings went to Alagaesia, but two of them don't show up until later. Sorry, I was unclear about that. Anyway, hope this chapter is good!**

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 2

"Who are you? Where am I? And why is my head okay?" I said. The teenager looked a little taken aback, but got over it quickly.

"Well, you are somewhere on the outskirts of Du Weldenvarden, my name is Eragon, and your forehead is fine, I assume, because I healed it." The boy replied. I raised my eyebrows at this, but he went on, "But who are you? I couldn't break the defenses on your mind, and your brothers wouldn't…"

"My brothers?" I interrupted, adding an Elvish curse word under my breath. Elvish was a language that my brothers, Nick and Andy, and I had learned after becoming Lord of the Rings fans. While I never used any English maledictions, I was known, on occasion, to swear violently in Elvish.

"Yes, your brothers, Rhoth and Odred. You do rememb…"

"Yes, of course." I interrupted again, wincing hearing shortened forms of Nick and Andy's Elvish names. Suddenly, something that should have been very obvious hit me. If Eragon, or whoever this was, was talking about my brothers, then that meant that they were also here in wherever this forest was with a crazy teenager who had a sword and, unfortunately, looked like he could use it. This realization led to a very long stream of ranting and curses to spew from my mouth, with their nastier English translations running through my brain. I was very fortunate that Eragon did not understand Tolkien's Elvish.

After about three minutes, of ranting, I became conscious of the fact that Eragon was still there, and calmed down. The teenager, Eragon, was looking at me with a mixture of amusement and worry on his face. When I finally shut up, he asked,

"Done?" I took a deep breath and answered

"Yes."

"Good, now are you going to answer my question coherently?"

"Yes." Eragon looked a little relived, though I wasn't sure if this was because I was understandable or because I agreed to answer his question, or both. I continued, deciding to also use a shortened form of my Elvish name.

"My name is Athred."

"Hmm…Athred…I've never heard that name before. Where is it from?" he asked. I swore under my breath again in Elvish, at having to reveal my lie so soon. I decided to tell him my real name, but to continue under the pretense that Rhoth and Odred were still Nick and Andy's real names.

"Well actually, its not. It's Julia. Athred is a form of my Elvish name." I replied.

"Eragon's eyes widened, and then I heard him say "Athred" and a few other strange words softly. He looked at me expectantly. After waiting a few seconds, he spoke again.

"Well, whatever Athred is, it isn't your True Name. And a word to the wise, if you _do_ know your True Name, then do not tell anyone, unless you trust them with your life and more."

Du Weldenvarden…True Names…blue Sword… Eragon? The words ran through my head. After he said True Names, though, it suddenly struck me where I was.

"No. No. No. No .NO. And **NO!** Please tell me that we are not in Alagaesia!" I said to Eragon.

"Where else would we be?" said Eragon, looking confused. "You have some explaining to do, but first, since I cannot see into your mind, I need you to swear in the Ancient Language that you do not work for Galbatorix and that you will not ever reveal anything about me to him, otherwise since you have met me, I will have to kill you." Eragon now looked determined, but very cautious, rather than looking completely confused. When I had agreed to, Eragon, who had pulled out his sword, revealing that the blade was also blue, put it back and taught me the words to say. They sounded a lot like Elvish, but not quite, and were kind of hard to pronounce correctly. Eragon, thankfully, only taught me to say, "It is understood" in the Ancient Language rather than the whole long phrase. I wasn't sure if this was because he did not know all the words, or because he knew it would have taken me for ever to get the exact pronunciation of the whole phrase correct.

At any rate, a few minutes later, I had managed to say three words correctly, and Eragon was back to asking questions, now seeming a little more comfortable.

He said," Where are you from if it isn't Alagaesia? How did you get to Alagaesia? Why were you injured? And why are you wearing such odd clothes?"

I responded, "I am from a far-away place called America and I don't know how I got here. But, I was injured when someone accidently hit me in the head with a rock which they had hit with a stick." I chose to save a more detailed explanation of softball for later, and deliberately avoided the question about clothes, wanting hurry up to see my brothers again, so I could make sure that they were all right. Unfortunately, Eragon noticed, and when I finished my other explanations, he said, "Alright, but you still haven't answered my question about clothes. Perhaps in Ameriblah…"

"America." I corrected

"Yes, that. Well, perhaps you don't wear dresses there, but in Alagaesia, most women wear dresses, not short pants."

"Yes, in America, most people, men and women wear pants regularly, because pants are more practical and comfortable. But, some women do wear dresses regularly, and most women wear them on special occasions." I said, feeling very uncomfortable discussing women's clothing with a boy I had met only less than an hour ago.

"You still need at least a dress, if you want to be inconspicuous, which you need to be." Said Eragon, looking just as uncomfortable as I felt.. I grimaced. I only wore dresses when I had to. Skirts either, for that matter.

Eragon saw the expression on my face and laughed, "I guess you don't normally wear dresses. You and Arya could almost be sisters."

"Hmmm."

"But, you still need a dress. I cannot go and buy one, since I would have an army on me in a moment, but I can alter some of my clothing to fit your brothers, and have them buy one in the next town we go through."

I grimaced again. Noting my expression, Eragon began chuckling again, and said.

"Do not worry, you only have to wear it in towns we go through." Suddenly, I realized what he was implying.

"Hang on, do you mean that my brothers and I are coming with you?"

"Yes, of course. You will come with me to the Varden." It was not a question.

I only agreed to this because I did not know of any other places in Alagaesia to go, where my brothers and I would be safe. I had also been growing more and more anxious about Nick and Andy while talking to Eragon.

"Fine, whatever, can we please go and find Rhoth and Odred now?"

Eragon seemed surprised, probably either at my abrupt change of subject or that I had agreed to go with him so quickly, but he nodded.

"Aye, but the fastest way is by dragon back." Eragon then yelled

"SAPHIRA!!!" A moment later, I felt a strong pressure in my head, like a band tightening around my thoughts, but it broke when I tried to make it go away. When the band broke, it left my thoughts feeling naked and unprotected, a feeling I had never known could exist. Then, I heard a voice in my head as a blue dragon landed about 20 feet in front of Eragon and me.

_Coming little one._

You could tell that Eragon and Saphira were very fond of one another. The air almost seemed to resonate with happiness as Eragon walked up to where Saphira was landing.

When Saphira landed, I felt my jaw drop. Having read the Inheritance cycle, I knew that since I was with Eragon, sooner or later I was going to meet a dragon, but I just hadn't expected them to be this _big_!

Eragon then said, "Julia, this is Saphira. She is my dragon and I her Rider. Together we are the last free Riders in all Alagaesia. Saphira, this is Julia."

The voice in my head then said, _Pleased to meet you Julia, friend of Eragon._

Barely able to talk, from shock, I managed to stammer "Same to you too, Saphira."

Eragon, looking pleased, deftly jumped into the saddle on Saphira's back, and reached his hand down to me. Misinterpreting my stunned reaction, since I had let the band to tighten itself around my thoughts again, Eragon said, "Take my hand. It's perfectly safe, you will be fine."

Still in shock, I reached up and took Eragon's hand and he pulled me up behind himself, saying, "Now hold onto the saddle tightly with your knees, and hold my waist."

I did as he told me, and with that, Saphira took off into the air.

**So, how did I do with this chapter? It took forever to type, since I stink at typing. I also think that I am not very good at dialogue, but I think I did okay in this chapter. Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay, I am finally updating again! It took a long time to write this chapter, probably because it's so long. And thank you to Thorn'is'awesome for reviewing. You rock! Anyway, hope this chapter is good!**

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 3

The flight only lasted about two minutes, but it was one of the most nerve-racking experiences I have ever had. To even come close to experiencing what I was feeling, try mixing triple the exhilaration that you would have on the tallest, fastest, best roller coaster in the world, then add in the fear of falling off, anxiousness of not knowing how my brothers were, confusion as to how I was in Alagaesia in the first place, more fear of not being able to leave, getting involved in a real war, not knowing if Eragon was a safe person, a dozen other things, plus extreme discomfort of holding onto a person who I had just met. Still, the thrill and exhilaration coursing through me gave me an energy similar to that if I had just had two dozen cans of Mountain Dew except that I didn't feel jittery, just so, well, _alive_.

We landed about two miles from where we had started, in another wide cleared spot in the woods, since this was the only place Saphira could easily land. I was a little scared of Saphira landing, because I was afraid I would lose my balance and fall off her. I almost did.

She spiraled down, then pulled back just before landing, landed on her hind legs, and took a step to stop momentum. When she had stopped, Eragon nimbly jumped off her back, while I slid off, much more clumsily. Saphira seemed to smirk at this. I debated in my head whether I should glare at her or say something, but decided against it, thinking that it would not be wise to annoy a dragon.

Eragon said, "Your brothers should be around here somewhere, but we may have to look for them. When I left them, they were a little north of this area."

Eragon walked what I assumed was north from the sun's position in the sky, for about a quarter mile. I was panting as much as if I had just raced a 200yard race freestyle in swimming, while Eragon looked like he was only taking a leisurely stroll. I glared at him, panting. He noticed, but didn't say anything, only slowed down. Then, I heard leaves crunching and voices, about 100 yards off. Eragon evidently heard them too, because he drew his sword and motioned for me to stay still. The voices came toward us, and I heard one of them say

"This should be enough wood. Lets go find that guy and see if Julia is alright." Then another voice said, sarcastically,

"Yeah, which way did he go? Do you want to get lost in the middle of the woods of nowhere? Or would you prefer getting eaten by a bear, or both?"

When he said "prefer", Nick burst through the trees nearby us, with a large bundle of sticks in his arms and closely followed by Andy. Eragon put his sword away as Andy's jaw dropped. Nick, who was turned around while talking to Andy, then saw Andy's expression and turned to Eragon and me.

Andy exclaimed, "Athred!" as his older brother gave me a look of warning. As Andy rushed toward me and hugged me around the middle, Nick said,

"Athred!" I guess you've met Eragon" He then switched to Elvish, "Manen nalye? Man mathach? Im gelir cen ad lin. Quena Edalie et eneth lin Athred." (**AN: translations in parentheses:** How are you? How do you feel? I'm happy to see you again. Reply in Elvish and go by Athred.) I responded in Elvish like Nick had asked me to, and so that Eragon couldn't understand our conversation. "Uuma Dela, Im maer. Er, Im Julia il Athred na ho."( Don't worry, I'm fine. But I'm Julia not Athred, to him"

Nick groaned that Eragon knew my name, since he and Andy were going by their Elvish names, so I turned back to Eragon.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Oh, Ni-Rhoth only wanted to make sure I was alright." Eragon looked skeptical, but let it go. Nick and Andy led us for about five minutes to an area that had a large pile of wood and two bags lying nearby. It was getting dark, and I estimated that it was around five or six o'clock. Eragon noticed this too, and said,"

It's getting dark and I don't have enough food for the four of us, especially for a few days. Can you start a fire, and I will go hunting and take Odred with me."

I looked at Andy, but he mouthed "I'll be fine." At me, so turned back to Eragon and nodded, saying, "Yeah, we can do that. I assume Saphira is going with you?"

I then felt the same pressure on my mind and loosened the band around it. Saphira's voice entered my head and she and Eragon said simultaneously, "Of course."

Eragon lifted my 10 year old brother onto Saphira's back, grabbed a sheathed dagger from one of the packs and tossed it to me saying, "Here, you might need this." As I caught it, he leaped up behind Andy, and Saphira took off.

Nick and I watched them until they were out of sight, then looked at each other. Nick gestured to the large pile of wood and said, " Well, we better get started. This could take a loooong time." I nodded and handed him the dagger in my hand. He went to the woodpile and grabbed two pieces of wood that looked pretty dry. Nick had gone to boy scout camp the previous summer, so he knew how to deal with being in the woods. Fortunately, his troop had had many "family campouts", and I ended up picking up most of Andy's slack, so I knew something about it too. Nick was the one who knew how to make fire with only two pieces of wood though. He sharpened the end of one stick and dug a hole in the other with the dagger. I watched him, until I realized that if he did manage to make fire, it needed a pit so it didn't start a forest fire. I was pretty sure that Alagaesia did not have firemen. So, I went rock hunting. I managed to find about 10 decent sized rocks next to a stream a little ways off. I took these back to where my brother was spinning the sharpened stick in the hole inside the other stick, which was smoking. I cleared all the leaves and other stuff off of a patch of ground next to Nick and placed the big rocks around the outside of the cleared circle. Inside the circle, I started to make a teepee shape out of the sticks from the large pile Nick and Andy had made earlier.

Finally, just as I finished, Nick got the stick to light. Fire! You would probably think we were the first people in the world to get fire from the way Nick and I acted. It was a little bit ridiculous.

Soon, we had a medium sized blaze, and it was now almost sun had gone down, and it was only a matter of minutes until it would be completely dark, and Eragon, Saphira and Andy still weren't back. When Nick and I got over our exhilaration at getting fire, we noticed this, but the only thing we could do was to wait. He asked me, "So, have you figured out where we are?"

"Yes, It's obvious, we're in Alagaesia."

He nodded, "So do you have any idea of how to get out and back to our world?'

"No, you?"

He shook his head and looked a little dejected, so I said, "Well, at least there's no school tomorrow."

"Yeah, every cloud has a silver lining." He rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, while we are in Alagaesia, we are going to need to learn to fight, especially if we are with Eragon. Since we already know Tae-kwon-do, why don't we practice while waiting for those three to get back? "

"I guess, but how do you propose sparring without protective gear?" My thirteen year old brother looked eager but skeptical at the same time.

"That's easy. Just don't kick to the head, and if we get beat up too badly then we'll stop."

"Okay. ReadysetGO!" My brother aimed a kick to my shoulder, but I ducked easily, sending one back at him. Nick and I were both about to get our black belts in 2 months, so we both fought very fiercely. I was stronger and had more endurance, but Nick was smaller and faster, so we were almost evenly matched. Finally, after about five minutes, with sweat pouring off both our faces, I managed to catch the back of his leg and landed him flat on the ground.

"I win" I crowed as I put my foot on his chest, and then helped him up.

"Yeah. He said, Good game or fight or whatever. You know, I never did learn what you are supposed to say to be sportsmanlike after losing in Tae-Kwon-Do."

I then turned around and saw Eragon, Saphira and Andy watching us, Eragon looking impressed and Andy looking very proud.

"That was very good!" Eragon said. " I'm really impressed." I blushed and I was pretty sure Nick was embarrassed too.

"How long were you watching?" I asked

"For about two minutes before you won." He replied. "I wasn't sure before, but what would you think about learning sword fighting?"

"I don't know? It's alright I guess. If we are going to need it then I should learn it. N-Rhoth?"

"I'm pretty much thinking the same things as her" My brother said.

"Good. I can start teaching you the basics tomorrow, but it is too dark tonight."

Nick and I looked at each other and grinned. We were a lot more enthusiastic about it than we had sounded before.

"That's fine, but right now, do you have anything we can make for dinner? That's what you left for in the first place." I asked Eragon

"Of course. I killed a deer and Andy found some wild blue berries. There is also some bread and dried meat in the packs." He responded.

Thankfully, Eragon and Andy had skinned the deer before, otherwise I think I might have puked. We cooked most of it like steak in a pan Eragon had in one of the packs. The rest of it, I managed to coax into some sort of stew. We ate around the fire and Eragon asked us how we had gotten to where we were before. In turn, Nick Andy and I told what had happened, and my brothers' stories were surprisingly similar to mine. Nick had gotten hit in the head by the rebound of a basketball, and Andy had taken a soccer ball to the face.

We were all surprised at how similar our stories were, but none of us had any idea how to leave. We, meaning Eragon, had already decided that we were going back to the Varden with him, but since there were four of us, it would take Saphira longer than if there was just Eragon, so we decided to fly during the day and stop at night.

When all this was agreed on, Eragon said, "What I'm really curious about is, how do all of you have such strong defenses around your minds? I don't think I could break into even one of them if I had ten times my strength."

"I don't know." I replied.

"I'm going to try something." Eragon said, "Try to relax and lower the defenses around your minds. If I can talk to you inside your heads, it will be very useful if we are far off." I then felt the same strange pressure on my mind, and becoming used to it, lowered the band on my thoughts."

Eragon's voice came into my head, _You did it! I wasn't sure that it would work, but that would have been strange._

_Of course I could, Saphira has already been in my head._ His mind receded from mine and he said, "Saphira! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

_It was rather funny to watch you act as though you had made a great discovery, when I already knew it would work._ She said, projecting her thoughts to everyone, and licking her claws smugly. Nick and Andy must have already known it would work too, because they seemed to understand Saphira.

"Saphira!" He groaned. She made a sound that I guessed was a laugh, causing my brothers and I to laugh too. Eventually Eragon joined in.

When we had calmed down Eragon sais, "Well, now we have that straightened out, I suppose we had better go to sleep."

My brothers and I agreed, though I knew that it would be an uncomfortable night, sleeping on the ground. However, we ran into another problem. There was only one blanket and four of us. This was resolved by Nick and Andy sleeping under one of Saphira's wings, me under the other and Eragon getting the blanket.

Even after we had settled down to sleep, I lay awake for a long time thinking over the events of the day. Finally, I fell asleep, with a ridiculous thought running through my head. "Dang!" I thought, "I forgot to do my Latin homework!" Then fell asleep.

**So what did you think? This chapter was twice as long as the last one, I know. I've been working on it all week, on and off, but I did most of it today and yesterday, but it took foreeeeevvveerrrr to type. Like I said I stink at typing. I think I got most of the Elvish right, but for all the Lord of the Rings fans who may read this, feel free to send me any corrections on the Elvish. Oh, and another thank you to my real brother for telling me how to make a fire using only real sticks. Anyway, I think this chapter of the story was okay, but please review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Aaah! It's the curse of the mary-sues! Run!!! I feel as though my characters are reverting back to their original Mary-Sue forms, and it is bothering me. I tried to do better in this chapter. Also, Thank you once again to Thorn'is'Awesome for reviewing. To the rest of you, I'm requiring at least 2 reviews per chapter before I update. Sorry it took so long to update the last chapter. I meant to last weekend but got involved in other stuff. Ugh, I know exactly what is going to happen for several more chapters, but don't know exactly how to say it. Also, to answer some questions I got in a review, **

**1. Is Julia going to become a rider?: Wait and see, it will get resolved in this chapter**

**2. Why does everyone say that the last egg is green?: Well, the a lot of us who are obsessed with Paolini's books went to his website and found out from the forums that the cover of the next book will have a green dragon on it. I guess a lot of other people found out from us that there will be a green dragon in book 4. There will be a green egg in my story, but it won't be the last egg.**

**Any way, enjoy this chapter!**

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning shivering and blinking opened my eyes, wondering where in the world I was. Then the previous day's events hit me and I remembered that I actually wasn't in my world. Groaning at feeling bruises from my spar with Nick the night before, I crawled out from under Saphira's wing, yawning. Saphira lazily opened one eye.

_Where are you going, young one?_

I thought quickly, then remembered the stream nearby that I had found yesterday. As long as I was up, I might as well practice swimming, something I did every other morning of the week any way.

_To the small stream near here. I'll be back in about an hour. _

_Be careful._

I quickly walked away, following the path I had made the previous day. I was a competitive swimmer, and normally had practice every day, before school and at around 5 in the evening. Swimming was my main sport in the winter, while softball took over during the summer. In fall and spring, however, both sports conflicted.

Soon I had reached the stream and I found a part of it that was about 4ft. deep and 8 ft wide. I took off my cleats, and, shivering, I dipped my toe in. It wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be, but definitely colder than I was used to. Feeling brave, I plunged my entire body under the water, which promptly broke out in goose bumps. Trying to warm up again, I began swimming.

I did what I estimated to be about a half a mile, in varied strokes. I was doing another lap of butterfly, when I inhaled another mouthful of disgusting water, and decided I was done. It was only about a quarter of what I would have normally done, but I was not willing to risk hypothermia, swim without goggles any longer, or inhale any more water, no matter how it affected my times in a race.

I swam to the side, not willing to risk being pinched by a hidden crayfish, and put my feet on the bank of the stream, once again, shivering. Wonderful, I thought sarcastically, I forgot a towel. Having swum with all my clothes on, my softball uniform was now probably cleaner, but was now drenched.

I decided to walk around a bit, hoping my clothes would dry off enough that I was at least not dripping.

I wandered through the forest for a little while, shivering and dripping, but nevertheless enjoying the sounds of the woods as it woke up. Small animals chattered and a slight breeze rustled the leaves of the trees. A beautiful purple, pink and gold sunrise painted the sky as the sun danced up from the horizon. I practically drank in the scenery, as it reflected the serene calmness inside me.

Not watching where I was going, I tripped and fell over something.

Expecting it to be a root, I got up and looked down, then felt my face twist into an expression of horror as a chill ran down my back, which, for the first time that day, was not from cold.

Lying on the ground in front of me was a tall creature that looked almost human, except that it had black skin and what appeared to be a ram's horns. Oh, and the fact that it was about 8 feet tall. The creature also had a long shaft of a spear in its back, which had a pool of blood around it. Looking around, I saw ten similar creatures also lying on the ground, each wounded severely. Also, around the area were about 40 dead soldiers, all wearing a red tunic, and two horses. All lying on the ground were dead. I was looking at the site of a blood bath.

Revolted at the sight, after getting over the shock, I promptly threw up. The only dead things that I had ever seen were stuffed animals at the museum, bugs, and former pet goldfish.

Then the sun moved a little bit higher in the trees, and something around 100 yards away glinted and caught my eye. Wanting to get away from this place of wanton destruction, I ran over to it.

On the ground was another person in a red tunic, who appeared to have died from a severe gash in the side or an arrow in his back. A few feet away was a large purple stone.

Cautiously, I walked over to it and stared at it for a few seconds. I picked it up, wondering how in the world a purple stone, which had to have been dyed, was here, and why it had been so important to this man, who appeared to have died trying to protect it.

As I examined the stone, it gave a large squeak. Startled, I dropped it. The stone began squeaking and shaking violently. Then, a large crack ran down its center. I stepped back. It shook some more and cracked again. Then, a large number of cracks appeared on the surface. Suddenly, pieces of it flew through the air and something purple appeared in the hole. Slowly the purple thing, which I realized was a snout attached to a body, drew itself out of the stone. It stepped onto the ground and began licking the membrane of the egg off of itself. I took a sharp breath and whispered,

"Dragon"

**Yay! I finished typing! Still stink at it. Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter, this is my first draft of it. Normally I do a rough draft with a paper and pencil, then change stuff when I type it on the computer. Also, sorry about leaving you with a cliff hanger, but I'm on a time budget, so I promise to update either this weekend or next. I have a billion projects due Friday, so it will probably be next weekend. 'Til then, please review and tell me how I'm doing! Remember, if I get more reviews, I will be more likely to find time in my schedule to update!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ugh, fine I'll stop w/ the cliffhangers. My reviwers & my brother have been saying I need to stop so I will. Once again, thank you to my one and only constant reviewer, thorn'is'awesome. Though I wouldn't mind it if any one else reviewed once in a while. Same thing as last time. I want at least 2 reviews before I update, and I blocked Nighttiger95 from reviewing since he is my brother, and he can tell me about my story at home, considering his bedroom is less than 10 feet away from mine. Any way, on with the story**

**Vakna Unin Alagaesia**

**Chapter 5**

"_Dragon"_ I whispered, looking down at the small creature in front of me that was licking its wings.

So what was going through my head, exhilaration, anxiety, happiness, euphoria? No. Fear. I was thinking, "NO. I cannot be a dragon rider, there must be a mistake! I'm not even from here! I need to get back to MY world, not get stuck here with some creature, and I can't bring it back to my world either."

Hoping that I would be able to resolve it later, I reached toward the small animal, which was only about the size of my forearm. It stared back at me, wonderingly. Cautiously I reached forward to touch its wing. It reached toward my hand with its snout.

When the two touched, a feeling of burning exploded in my arm and instantaneously spread throughout my entire body. It felt like all the blood in my body had turned to lava, and I fell backwards with an earsplitting cry, which rang through the quiet woods. Then my entire body became paralyzed and I lay writhing on the ground for several minutes.

Finally, when the feeling subsided, I sat up and stared at the creature, which was looking at me curiously. Since the thing had touched my palm, the same pressure had been on my mind as when Saphira tried to talk to me, and finally I opened my mind. The same feeling that was a look on the dragon's face rushed into my mind, but also some sorrow.

"Oh, so now you're sorry you hurt me." I said to it. I looked down at my hand and nearly screamed. On it was a silvery oval that looked burnt and itched like a dozen mosquito bites. I looked back at the dragon and edged away from it. It hopped a few steps closer and I stepped back again. It hopped closer. A feeling of playfulness rebounded in my mind. I stepped back again and the thing stepped closer. It thought we were playing a game!

I wasn't sure, but I didn't think the thing wanted to hurt me again. I stretched out my palm again and the dragon ran underneath it, arching its back like a cat so that its leathery wings touched my palm. Then I heard a noise like someone crunching leaves. Or more than one someones. Quickly I picked up the dragon, trying to tell it with my mind to stay quiet. It must have gotten the message because it stayed quiet, though feeling of protest ran through my mind. I ignored it and ran to crouch behind a fallen tree, and covered myself and the dragon with leaves. The footsteps came much closer and I peeked out from behind the log.

I saw the flash of a blue blade, and a gold soccer uniform and I stood up shouting,

"Guys it's me."

The footsteps stopped and Eragon's voice said,

"Hold. Step out into the open with your hands in the air or you die."

I did as he told me and stepped into the clearing to see Eragon holding his magnificent blade out and Nick and Andy each armed with daggers.

"Thank God it's you" Eragon said, sheathing his sword. "Are you alright? Who screamed? What in the world happened here?" Nick and Andy were standing behind him, staring at the bloodshed around us.

"I'm fine." I said, " I don't know what happened here, they were all like this before I came here, but I know what they were doing here."

"WHAT?" All three boys yelled simultaneously. I turned around and told the dragon with my mind to hop on my shoulder. The dragon jumped up from behind me flapping its wings desperately and managed to settle on my shoulder.

Eragon's jaw dropped, then he recovered himself, grasped my hand, turned it palm up and his jaw dropped again.

"B-But…He…You…They…WHAT HAPPENED?" he roared. And Saphira landed behind him.

I proceeded to tell him what had happened that morning and both he and Saphira listened intently. When I finished, he said,

"Alright. My best guess is that there was a battle here between the Empire's soldiers and the Urgals and the Empire was guarding the egg, but I know the last egg was green. At any rate, the fact that a dragon hatched for you makes it even more imperative that we get back to the Varden as fast as possible. You need to swear again that you don't work for the Empire." I nodded and Eragon proceeded to teach me a new phrase in the strange language from yesterday. When I finished, he nodded and said, "I'm going to look and see if any of the dead soldiers might be carrying any instructions from Galbatorix. You can help if you want, unless its too bloody for you."

The thought of looking through these dead people for anything caused a lump to rise in my throat, but I nodded.

"Good." Eragon said, "You look through the packs for any pieces of paper, I'll look on their persons."

For the next fifteen minutes Eragon and I looked through the dead men and creatures methodically for any information. Nick helped Eragon while Andy stayed back, too grossed out. At one point, my dragon made to eat some of the dead flesh of a human and I, completely revolted, had to impress upon it not to eat humans. The dragon, disappointed, went to sit next to Saphira, whom I asked to watch it.

Saphira agreed, but added that she was not a babysitter for hatchlings.

After Eragon, Nick and I couldn't find any more, we went through the things. Nick and I read all the letters written in English, while we handed any papers written in a different language to Eragon. Most of the papers were letters from the now dead soldiers, but after two minutes, Eragon said, "Found it."

We all crowded around him as he said,

"It's in a secret language,of Galbatorix's invention, which he uses to communicate with his servants. It says

_Gatekeepers at Ithro Zhada to let this bearer of alternate egg pass. Shelter to be given... Send word back with bearer and twenty soldiers to Urubaen. Others sent by different routes.__Command to be given under Kujfe, under Jihdap, under Fikpolh, under Gashz, under King Galbatorix the Mighty._

We all stared at each other for a few moments, until Nick broke the silence.

"Others, why? "

Eragon answered, "Most likely as a decoy, to prevent the Varden finding out. Nasuada apparently did find out, but did not know why they were sent or she sent the Urgals on some mission and they met with these. Let me scry her and I will meet you back at the camp in a few minutes. Julia, you and your dragon come with me. Then he said, projecting his thoughts to everyone

_Saphira, can you take the two boys to the camp then meet me back here_

She replied,_ Yes Eragon, but be I will be back as soon as I drop those two off. It seems every time I turn my back you always get into trouble_

_Yes, Saphira _

I think their conversation continued, but they kept it to themselves. Meanwhile, my dragon was hopping around inspecting things, before it sent a wave of hunger through my head.

I remembered that it had never eaten anything and would, of course, be hungry. I ran to one of the dead soldier's packs and looked inside for any food. Inside were a few pieces of bread and dried meat. I tossed the bread to the dragon and it sniffed it, then tore the bread to shreds, showing its distaste for the bread. I tossed it the dried meat, which it immediately began wrestling with, tearing off strips with its fangs.

When it had finished, the purple dragon looked up at me, and satisfaction, which was not mine, swept my mind. Then Eragon must have finished his conversation with Saphira because Nick and Andy were sitting on her back, both looking very nervous, and she took off. Eragon then motioned for me to come near him and he uttered a few strange words. I went to where he was, telling the dragon to follow.

As soon as Eragon said the strange words, water began appearing on the surface of the ground. Within a few seconds, it had become a small pool.

"How did you do that?" I asked, amazed.

"Magic." Eragon said curtly.

He said a few more words in the strange language, which I suspected were from the same language he had had me swear in earlier, and the image of a beautiful, dark skinned woman appeared in the pool.

"Eragon!" She exclaimed " What happened? We just talked yesterday afternoon."

"Much, all of it important and strange, but first, did you send any Urgals out anywhere near my path back."

"Yes, I was sending them to check on your path back two weeks ago. Why?"

"They are all dead. They must have met with the Empire and attacked, you can't see it, but there around 40 dead soldiers of the Empire and 10 dead Urgals laying near me."

"What? And how did you come across them?"

"Hang on, I'll tell you all of what happened since yesterday afternoon."

Eragon then told the woman how he had found us, why they had stopped for the night, how I had found the Urgals, and about the egg, but he left out that it had hatched. When he had finished the woman said,

"Another egg? Three people lying on the ground for reasons they don't remember? Ah, this complicates things." The woman sat back

"Aye" Eragon said, "That's what I was just about to tell you about." He motioned for me to step next to him with my dragon.

"Julia, this is Nasuada, leader of the Varden, and my liege lord. Nasuada, this is Julia, the newest Dragon Rider."

The woman looked shocked, but recovered quickly.

"Pleased to meet you, Julia." She turned to both of us "Julia, I don't have any hold on you, but am I correct in assuming you will come to the Varden with Eragon?" I nodded, so she continued, "Good, Eragon, I am expecting you both back at Feinster in a few days. Please hurry! We lose more soldiers daily. Now go! Saphira, please don't let anything slow you." I turned, and Saphira was standing behind us. She must have landed during our conversation. Nasuada continued,

"Luck on your journey, Eragon, Saphira and Julia. If we meet again I fear it will be on the field of battle." She then hurried from our sight and the water cleared, then seeped back into the ground.

Eragon turned to me and said, "Well, I suppose that settles it. We need to go, and fast. Lets go!"

With that, Eragon climbed on Saphira and helped me up, my dragon settling on my lap and Saphira took off.

When we landed, it took us about 5 minutes, then all five of us were settled on Saphira, Andy in front of Eragon, Nick behind Eragon, and me last, again with my dragon on my lap.

So Saphira took off, flying up into the endless sky.

**So, long chapter. Please R&R to tell me what you think. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm updating again! Sorry it took so long, but first I had a billion projects, then I had writer's block, then I had exams, then more writer's block. I finally got over it a few days ago during swim practice when we had a really long set, but it took me until yesterday to figure everything out. I didn't finish writing yesterday so… Once again Thank you, thank you , thank you, thank you, and thank you to shadowleaf264, Eragon Bromsson, Adurna Rider of Kveykva, Ryuu814, and Adurna Brisingr for reviewing. Also, I would like to add that this will not be a love story. Julia has a 99.9 percent chance of not falling in love with anyone, so don't expect it. Now that's over, on with the story**

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 6

After Saphira took off, and I got used to the idea that flying on her along with three other people plus one dragonling was _not _going to make me fall off, I started to think. This is something that I hadn't had time to do since I got to this crazy world, unless you count when I was sleeping or trying to keep from catching hypothermia while swimming, which I don't.

The main question I asked was Why me? I knew that there were thousands of people who would kill to have the chance to come to Alagaesia, but not me. I read a lot, and there were a thousand alternate realities that existed in books, so why did I have to come to Alagaesia? If I had to pick a world from a book to go to, my first choice would have been Middle Earth. I knew the Elvish language and I had only read the book about 1,000 times. Second would be Narnia, because it was just plain awesome, like Middle Earth. Third would be Hogwarts. Even though it wasn't exactly a different world, learning mgic and flying on a broom and being able to anything with the flick of a wand would be like a dream come true. There were thousands of other places from books that I would have rather gone to, Farsala, Neverland, Avalon, Elantra, Emelan, Kanbal, and so many others, so why did I get stuck in Alagaesia? I mean, I liked the books a lot, but the world as a whole was not a place I wanted to be.

As far as I could figure out, it was a medieval Europe with dragons, elves, dwarves and magic. For humans anyway, If you were poor, you spent your life as a farmer, working in the fields, if you were middle class, you spent your life in a shop or serving someone else, and if you were anyone of importance, you either spent your life sucking up to the king or running from him. Noblemen and women in the Empire were pretty much slaves to the evil king, to obey his orders or die. Anyone of importance in the Varden or Surda was also high up in the military, which meant they were also in charge of battles. Dragon Riders were also either slaves to the king, which meant fighting for him until death, or his worst enemies, which meant battle against him until death. Actually, working for the king was worse than being a slave. Every slave had at least some chance of escape. Working for the king however, meant being bound to him by magic and your own words, from which there was almost no hope of escape.

This was definitely not the way I wanted to live, and I didn't have any choice about that. The creature in front of me licking its claws had already decided that. I couldn't choose to work for the king for obvious reasons, but I couldn't choose not to pick a side either. Even if I wanted to remain neutral, If I tried that, either Galbatorix, his minions or the Varden would have dragged me somewhere within a month, probably less. Being found by one of the highest ranking people in the Varden was the other reason I had no say in anything.

I sighed once again. Why me? Nick turned around, squashing the dragon, who tried to fly off, until I grabbed its, tail, causing it to hiss.

"What's wrong ?" Nick asked.

"Nothing really, mostly I'm just thinking."

"About home? Yeah, me too. I miss it, still, how many people can say that they've been to another world?"

"Yes, but if I had to go to another world, why this one? I would a billion times rather go to Middle Earth or Narnia or anyplace but here. Now, not only am I in another world, I'm in the midst of another world, where a war is raging on, and not just that, I have now automatically gotten myself in the middle of it thanks to the person in front of you and sharpclaws here." I said, indicating the purple creature now digging its nails into my knees.

"Oh, cheer up sis." My brother said, "At least I'm here."

"Yeah, big bonus."

We laughed, and Nick turned back around. Have I mentioned how hard it is to face backwards while riding a dragon?

A few hours later, we landed in a place, which Eragon said was about a half league (I guessed about a mile) from a town called Marna. Then asked me to wait with Saphira and the purple dragon while he and my two brothers left for a few minutes.

When they returned, Nick and Andy were both new clothes, similar to Eragon's. I burst out laughing. On Eragon, the clothing looked normal, because that was normal for what he wore. On Nick and Andy, whose entire wardrobe consisted mainly of jeans and t-shirts, the tunic was hilarious.

"Stupid dress." Nick muttered. That only made me laugh more.

"What's so funny?" Eragon asked.

When I finally stopped laughing, enough that I could talk anyway, I answered

"The clothes you're making my brothers wear."

"What about them?"

"Oh, never mind." I said, still chuckling, "You wouldn't get it anyway."

Then I noticed that both of my brothers were smiling. Evil smiles. To anyone else, it may have seemed as though they were sharing a joke, but I knew better. They only smiled in that way when they were plotting against me. I don't know what made that smile seem different, but I could tell it apart.

Andy spoke up, "Julia, there's some for you too."

"Some what?"

"New clothes of course" He said innocently, with the same evil smile.

"He's right," Eragon said, "Here you are"

I took the tunic plus leggings, and went a good distance off before changing. They were an exact replica of Eragon's, and I had no doubt where they came from.

When I went back, the boys all started laughing

"Shut up." They didn't shut up for a few minutes. When they did, Eragon said.

"Alright, we need supplies, so we need to go into the city to get them. I don't have enough for all three of you plus me. When we go in, Julia and Odred, you will be my cousins whose house burned down. Your parents are busy with the harvest, and Julia, you got caught in the fire and your dress burned badly enough that you needed a new one. Your parents asked me to take you to the city to buy some new garments plus supplies, and Rhoth, you are my little brother who wanted to come along to see the city. Alright? Oh, while were there, I'm Neal, Julia is Birgit, Rhoth is Jeod and Odred, Kell."

"Alright, but why bother going by a different name?" Andy asked

"Because Eragon the Rider is worth an earldom, Neal the farm boy is worth nothing to the Empire. And Julia is too conspicuous a name." Eragon answered him.

And so, we proceeded toward the city. Saphira and the purple dragon stayed behind of course.

As expected the guard at the gate of Marna stopped us

"Halt, state yer business." The guard said lazily, then "Why's she wearin' men's clothes"

"Well, two days ago, m' young cousin had n' accident wi' the lamp an' th' house burn'd down." Eragon said, slipping into a thick accent. "M' oth'r cousin Birgit here wus cau' in th' fire and her dress burn'd too badly tha' she's had t' borrow some clothes from me. Tha's wut were here fur. Their moth'r n' fath'r are both still recovrin' from the burns."

"And this one"

"Oh, tha's m' brother Jeod, he jus' wan'ed t' see th' city."

"Alrigh' go on through, jus' stay out of trouble, or we'll keep you out of it."

When we were out of earshot, I said to Eragon "That took a while. Why's it his business anyway?"

"To attempt to keep people out of the city who might cause trouble, not that it ever works."

Half an hour later, I had gone inside a second hand clothing shop, told the fake tale Eragon made up, been cooed over and called a poor lamb about a million times by the shopkeeper, was wearing an ugly dress, was feeling very, very annoyed and was finally headed out of Marna.

We were planning to meet Saphira along with dragonling about five miles out of the city, out of eyeshot of anyone from the city, and out of the way of almost all of the constant stream of travelers going in and out of the city.

When we had reached about four miles out of the city, Eragon said "There's a troop of soldiers up ahead, when they pass, stand by the side of the road, and let me do the talking."

It was true, less than a half mile later, an entire troop came upon us. They weren't doing anything except marching, and they all seemed to be guarding a person on horseback in the center, who was very clearly not a soldier. I stared at him.

He was wearing the same red tunic as the soldiers, but he had a pack at his side with two round things, whose outlines showed through the fabric, inside it. He also kept looking inside it, as though to check that it was still there, and he kept a hand on it at all times.

What could be in the pack, that he has to check it every two seconds, I wondered. Then , as he opened the pack again to check on it my eye caught a flash of copper orange. Not like metal, but the same kind of glint that my dragon's egg had made.

I stared even harder at the pack, until one of the soldiers shouted, "Oy there, missy, what you starin at?" I looked away, but only for a moment. When the man opened the pack again, and the same orange thing flashed. Then another thing flashed in the corner of my eye. This thing was silver, and pointy.

Later I thanked God for the reflexes which I had acquired from all my sports, which had caused me to duck and miss the thrust with a sword that a soldier had thrown at me. A moment later, Eragon had drawn his sword from his sheath which was hidden and was fighting furiously, five soldiers were pointing spears and swords at me, all intending to use them, and Nick and I were using anything we knew about weaponless fighting, which thanks to Tae-Kwon-Do, was quite a lot, while improvising to avoid metal blades.

**Hee hee, I'm evil. Oh, allright, I promise to update either tomorrow or the next day, because I don't have much better to do. But only if I get at least 2 reviews. It's not much to ask for . By the way, this was the hardest chapter to write, because I have to get them to Feinster with some certain things happening, but most of the trip is boring, so I have to make it interesting, so don't flame me for it. Anyway, it took me two days to write this stupid chapter, and that doesn't include all the thinking I had to do about what would happen. So, Merry Christmas, one day late and I'll update again as soon as I get the required number of reviews. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, so this chapter is relatively short, but I did keep my promise and update. I got 150 % more reviews than I required, so I started writing. Thank you to a few certain people, Adurna Brisingr, Ryuu814, and Adurna Rider of Kveykva, for reviewing, and especially thank you to NationalWonder and Eragon Bromsson, who reviewed within 4 hours of my updting. I also decided to start naming the chapters. Well, I don't have anything else to say so enjoy the chapter! **

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 7

Attacked and Names

Unfortunately for me, I was wearing the ugly dress, and it inhibited my movement a lot. Tae-Kwon-Do relies heavily on kicking, which thanks to the stupid skirt, was nearly impossible. A soldier got his sword within inches of me, but thankfully Eragon managed to stop the blade with his own, and as the soldier's blade flew through the air, Eragon decapitated him. At first the soldiers' main target was me, as I had seen what they were protecting, but when they saw that Eragon could fight, and he had the sword, three quarters of them turned to him. There were about 40 soldiers, so that still meant the three of us were left with about 10 soldiers, with most of my fighting abilities inhibited, and Andy not helping after being shoved aside and out of the fight by me.

This was when Eragon showed exactly why he had pointed ears. The speed with which he dispatched the soldiers was incredible. I could swear I saw him dispatch five soldiers with one blow once.

Despite this, I think that Nick was the real hero of the battle. Eragon being busy with about 30 soldiers. I can't tell you how many spears and wrists holding swords Nick broke that had been headed toward me. Once the soldiers had no weapons, they were as good as dead. I might not have been able to kick anyone, but a hard fist to the head will kill anyone.

The battle finally ended when Eragon remembered that a sword was not his only weapon, and he killed the rest using magic within 2 minutes. Meanwhile, I had picked up a only partially broken spear, and was stabbing it at anything wearing red, and Nick and my share of soldiers was dead almost as quickly as Eragon's.

When the man on the horse saw that the battle was ending, and it was not his side that would win, he kicked the horse into a gallop, and sped away from the city. Eragon took off after him on foot. Though I knew that any elf, save one without legs if that had ever happened, could easily outrun a horse, it was still amazing to watch. He caught up with the horse within 50 steps and I watched as man and horse collapsed on the ground dead

The ground before me was a small sea of blood, bodies and weapons, many broken. As I stared at the gruesome sight before me, I could feel the blood drain from my face as my stomach churned. Looking at dead men killed by someone else had been bad enough, but knowing that I and my companions had been the cause of these men's destruction overwhelmed me and I blacked out.

I woke, what couldn't have been ten minutes later, to all of the boys standing over me. As I sat up I asked, "What happened?" before once more looking at the sight around me. I felt queasy, but didn't pass out again.

"You passed out after the fight." Eragon said

"Yeah, I figu- never mind" I said, standing up. More soldiers had spears in there head than before, and none looked like they had been killed by magic. Saphira and purple dragonling were very nearby, and Nick was pale as a vampire, and Andy was a light greenish color.

_Why did the soldiers attack you? _Saphira asked

"That would be my fault." I replied, "They saw me looking at the thing they were guarding, and decided that I knew what it was. I suppose that they had been about to kill us instead of risking that I knew and might tell of what they were guarding."

_What were the soldiers guarding so heavily?_ asked Saphira

"This" Eragon said as he held up the same pack that I had seen on the horserider's saddle, and drew out the two things that I had guessed were I it. Dragon eggs. The first was a coppery orange, and a little smaller that my dragon's egg had been, the second, a shining white the color of opal, which was somewhat larger than my dragon's egg had been.

My dragon hopped over to where we were all standing, and I picked it up. Then I heard a strange new voice in my head, which did not belong to any of the people standing next to me or Saphira.

_Julia_

Startled, I dropped my dragon and said,

"Alright, who's in my head?"

_Julia_

The boys all looked confused, as did Saphira.

I stared down at the purple dragon in front of me, who stared me right back in the eye. A chill ran down my back, but I knew who it was that was in my head.

"You!", I exclaimed, "You're only a few hours old, you're not supposed to be talking for weeks!"

_Julia_

_Stop saying my name_

_Julia_

It folded its wings smugly, well I suppose I should say she, because I knew somehow that my dragon was a girl

Eragon interrupted to say, "What do you mean?"

"My dragon, she's talking"

"Talking? Saphira didn't say anything for weeks after she hatched. What did it say?"

"She. And _She_ hasn't said anything except my name."

_Yes, but that's not _all_ I can say _My dragon interrupted

Eragon stared at her in shock, Saphira looked pleased, and my brothers looked confused.

_Well what name do you pick young ones? _Saphira asked both of us

I looked at the dragon who looked back at me

_How about Violet?_ I asked her

_No._

_Amethyst?_

_No_

_Lilac?_

_No_

_Lavender?_

_No._

I tried several names, some of dragons I'd heard of, most meaning purple, and Eragon stepped in with some ancient dragons' names. My dragon turned them all down, including Tyre, Heliotrope, Ophelia, Lenora, Pleione, Porpora, Miremel, and Vervada.

Finally I asked her the two last names I could think of, before using human names

_Jacinta?_

_No._

_Ione?_

_Yes._

I felt satisfaction spread through my mind. I grinned at Ione, and she started humming. "Her name is Ione." I said. My brothers smiled, Eragon grinned at her, and Saphira looked pleased.

_A good choice. _Saphira said.

"Well, we better leave before anyone finds us here. The scene behind us is not the best to be caught in, nor do we want either of these two to be seen." Eragon said. I nodded, and Eragon put the two other eggs back in the pack, slung it over his back and helped my brothers onto Saphira. I climbed onto her behind Nick, holding Ione, who I suspected was talking to Saphira, and when Eragon climbed onto Saphira, she flew into the sky toward the setting sun.

**There, I'm done. Well with the chapter anyway. Not a cliffhanger, be happy. Anyway, knowing me, I'll probably update sometime within the next two days, because it's Christmas break, I'm over the writer's block, and I'll probably decide that figuring out what's going to happen to Julia is more interesting than reading books, though I have a large pile of books from the library to dig through. So please review and I'll update probably update quickly.**

**ps. Has anyone (other than me) bothered to figure out what the name of the story means?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright, so I'm up to chapter 8. I actually wrote draft one, or most of it anyway, the day I published chapter 7, but I realized the next day, as I was writing the last bit, how many things I was going to go back on, and either fix or edit out. So, in the end, I scrapped the whole thing and re-wrote it. Anyway, for the last chapter I got 8 reviews, for which I would like to thank Ryuu814, Eragon Bromsson, Writer of the North, Hazelcloud, Adurna Rider of Kveykva, National Wonder, Thorn'is'awesome, and Danni Lea. You guys are awesome! Also, Hazelcloud was the first person who figured out the name (in English) of the story. Anyway, I'm out of stuff to say, so on with the story!**

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 8

Injuries and Swordfighting

When Saphira took off, I was very disgruntled. I knew that had I not just killed those people, I would be lying in their places, but still, I had actually killed someone. The horrible thoughts of what had happened filled my head. I was used to hitting people wearing about three inches of padding, but the way my knuckles had collided with the men's skulls, and the bone giving way was nearly driving me insane.

At least until the wind hit my left leg, sending a sharp jolt of pain through it. Then I noticed wet warmth on my ankle, which was slowly spreading down my heel. I looked down, as the pain, which I hadn't noticed before in the excitement, grew and spread to the entire area around my ankle. My normally blue softball sock, which I was still wearing under the skirt, was turning a dark reddish brown, and the fabric was cut about three inches above my Achilles tendon. Not wanting to see how bad it really was, I didn't inspect the cut, but it's amazing, how an injury that has gone unnoticed before, can be extremely painful once you see it.

I tried to ignore it, though Ione could tell that I was hurt.

We continued flying all night, during which I had a hard time remaining awake. Andy ended up falling asleep, leaned against Saphira's neck, but she assured me that she wasn't going to let him fall off, so I wasn't completely worried, though I did worry some.

When the sun rose, I realized that we were flying over a desert, which I later recognized as the Hadarac desert. During the day, we didn't stop at all, and ate while riding Saphira

Around what I guessed to be noon, Eragon decided to start explaining the history of Galbatorix. I was interesting, but I already knew it, of course, because it was in some of the first chapters of the book. After he had explained exactly why he was fighting Galbatorix, he explained about the dragons. This was much more interesting because, I could kind of relate to it, because of Ione, and I didn't know it all already.

Though I suspected that Eragon was explaining it mainly to me and Ione, Nick and Andy were much more enraptured by it that me. They were constantly asking questions throughout the day. Saphira stopped soon before sunset because of exhaustion. I guessed that she would have been able to go on much longer had it been only Eragon, but with Ione, my brothers and I, she tired much faster.

When Saphira had stopped, I went to jump to the ground, but as soon as my left leg hit the ground, I collapsed with a small cry.

"Julia!" The shout came from both my mind and in the air.

Nick and Andy, followed closely by Eragon, were surrounding me almost as fast as Ione was at my head.

_What happened? _Ione asked

_My ankle hurts a lot, I don't know what's wrong with it, I could walk earlier._

Then Eragon was kneeling on the ground next to it, asking the same things as Ione, and receiving the same answers.I peeled off my sock, which was like plaster because of the blood, and sticking to my leg. It finally peeled off to show that there was a large cut running across the back of my leg, and though it had long since stopped bleeding, the entire area was swollen and red.

I grimaced at the sight, and the pain in the cut, now exposed to fresh air, began throbbing worse than before.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before? It would have been easier to fix then." Eragon asked

"I didn't know how bad it was then." I snapped back, not feeling particularly pleasant, for obvious reasons.

"Hold still, I'll heal it." Eragon said. I complied, and then Eragon muttered some words. I then took in a sharp breath as my ankle began to itch like crazy, while my skin knit itself back together, the area faded from red back to normal skin color and the swelling faded.

"That's amazing, what did you do?" Nick asked

"Magic." Was the reply. I stood up and gingerly put my weight on my left foot. This time it held.

"How is it?" Eragon asked

"Fine."

"Good, you'll need to be for tonight." Eragon said. I looked at him, confused.

"You said you wanted to learn to use a sword, so after yesterday, I decided it was time to teach you."

Unfortunately for me, after seeing what working with a sword actually did, I half-wanted not to learn. The other half was my sensible side, which knew that ducking swords in battle was very unlikely to work again. My sensible side prevailed and I kept my mouth shut while Eragon whittled four sticks to resemble swords, using magic, of course.

"Here, I'm going to train you using these for now. You should learn to fight before using a sharp sword, to pick one that best suits your abilities."

And so began my first lesson in swordplay.

"No we're not going to use the swords at first, the first thing you need to do is focus on your breathing. If you wait until you are out of breath to begin breathing deeply, you have already lost the fight… Good, now relax. You are not as fast in battle if you are tense. Now remaining balanced is also important, if you trip or fall, that is one moment when you are not focused on the fight, and your opponent has the advantage. You also need to take care to assess the surroundings and your opponent before you begin…Alright; I think you are ready to begin. The best, and really only way to learn how to use a sword is to actually use one against an opponent."

That being said, Eragon came toward me with the wooden sword, as I tried to remember everything he just said. I managed to block the first attack, but failed in the second, not because I couldn't block the attack, though had Eragon actually been trying, I wouldn't have, but because I tripped over the skirt. I landed on the ground with a very loud,

"OW!"

"Are you alright?" Eragon asked, clearly holding back a laugh.

"Yes, and I don't care what anyone else thinks, I'm changing back into my softball uniform. You boys stay here."

_Ione, could you please stay here and warn me if they leave?_

_Of course._

As I walked off, I heard Eragon say, "Rhoth, you were listening right, good, it's your turn.

I returned a few minutes later to Eragon, who was hardly even trying, and Nick, who was using every bit of energy he had, both fighting with the wooden swords. Then Eragon twisted his wrist, and Nick's sword flew out of his hand.

"Good, except you keep stretching your arms out. You need to keep your elbows bent and close to your body. Now try again…Oh, Julia, you're back."

So, I rejoined them, doing exactly what we had been doing before. We would fight Eragon, lose, he would tell us what we were doing wrong, and we would try again. We continued for about forty-five minutes, after which we three humans were all exhausted, and it had grown dark.

"Good, that's enough for today. You three weren't bad for a first try, but Julia and Odred, you need to work on not using any unnecessary moves, Julia especially, and Nick, you need to worry especially about not getting carried away, and making a bad move. But you all did well especially for a first time."

Too exhausted to do anything, I flopped onto one of the blankets we had picked up in Marna, and after saying goodnight to the dragons and boys, I fell asleep.

**There you go, chapter 8. It's late, but I promised myself I would finish it today, so I finally got it done. So, a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR! As for the chapter, please review, and I'll probably update soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Questions, questions. Alright, so I'm going to start by answering the many questions from the review from, Shruikan1**

**Will Nick and Andy get dragon?: Not going to say yet**

**What happened to the other two dragon eggs: They are carrying them with them, they are just out of sight, and Julia is really more focused on the novelty of Alagaesia.**

**Are all of them training in swordplay, or only Julia: They are all training. Though Julia doesn't realize it yet, Eragon knows that since she is a Rider, her brothers would make very powerful hostages, who would be easy to attain if they are vulnerable to attack.**

**When is Ione going to get her training from Saphira: As soon as she is large enough to fly, she will begin physical training, Eragon and Saphira are already teaching her and Julia about the Varden and Riders. **

**Will all of them get dragons: Again, just wait and see.**

**Alright, so that's all the questions, also, to Hazelcloud, Ryuu814, Writer of the North, and NationalWonder, Thank you so much for reviewing repeatedly, I get really excited every time I see a review, so again, thanks! Okay, I think I've talked long enough, so onto the story!**

Vakna Unin Alageasia

Chapter 9

Another Hatchling!

"Ugh…" I groaned as I woke up, the entire right side of my body aching, most likely from the lesson the day before. Then I noticed what had woken me up, though it was still dark. Nick and Eragon were in a fierce argument.

"No!! I don't know who you are, but you're dragging us off to some rebel group in the south, just because a dragon hatched for my sister! You have soldiers searching for you! We had to Kill people because Julia looked at them funny while they were guarding some eggs! They can have their stupid eggs for all I care! I shouldn't need to use a sword, because I shouldn't have crazy soldiers after me!"

"You don't understand! This is the only way you'll be safe! As soon as anyone finds out that Julia has a dragon, you will have the King and a lot more soldiers after you, to conscript her to the King's forces."

"That is the point! We shouldn't need to have any one after us! And seeing that you say you're the most wanted person in the Empire, it's not helping matters…"

By this time I was up and had stumbled over to the boys.

_Humans, you're so noisy. _Ione said.

_Ione, I'm human_

_I know… _She gave the equivalent of a grin at me

_You've been talking to Saphira too much_

_Hmph, Well she is the only other of my race around here_

_True enough_ And I turned to the arguing boys

"What the heck are you arguing about?" I asked them.

"Nick doesn't quite understand the situation and believes that you three in addition to Ione should go a different way from Saphira and I." Eragon said.

"Exactly! Because of him we had a whole bunch of soldiers attack us, and he's obviously one of the most wanted criminals in this entire world! The soldiers can have their eggs, dragons or not!" my nearly hysterical brother shouted, picking up the coppery orange out of the pack.

"That was different, your sister looked at what they were carrying, and they decided her telling anyone her suspicions wasn't worth the risk, and as for me being a criminal, I won't deny that I am the enemy of the Empire, but that is only because the Empire is wrong."

"Exactly.. you're putting us all in danger…"

"Guys! Calm down!" I shouted to make myself heard, and it worked, "Rhoth, I think we should go with Eragon as…" Then a revelation hit me. "Eragon, did you call him Nick?"

"Yes." Both boys chorused, then Eragon continued, "Nick made a mistake and called Andy by his real name, then they revealed the rest earlier this morning. I cannot say I agree with your choices, but I understand why you did it, I might have done the same myself. That is what started this argument."

"Alright, well then Nick, I think we should stay with Eragon. He is the only person in this world we know…"

"This world?" Eragon interrupted.

"One problem at a time please." I think Eragon only stopped because he saw I was taking his side against Nick, so I continued, " Nick, like I said, he is the only person in this world we know, and even if we did know someone else, how would we get there?"

"We could walk."

"We're in the middle of the desert, and as Eragon said, once anyone finds out that I have Ione, we're going to have a whole lot more soldiers after me."

"Then we could live alone away from everyone else while we try to figure out how to get back."

"What would we eat? And what about Ione, if we can get back?"

"We could hunt."

"Hunt what? We're in the middle of the desert, and how?"

"I don't know! We'll think of some…"Nick was saying, though beginning to sound defeated before a loud crack rang through the air, punctuated by a yell from Nick. He dropped the dragon egg he had been holding the entire time.

"No. Way." I whispered staring at it, while Nick was dumbfounded, and Eragon said, "Impossible."

Another crack rang through the air, as it appeared on the egg. Two minutes later, standing before us was a small coppery orange dragon, licking itself.

Nick, who was now looking very bewildered, reached out to touch it with his left hand. Then, remembering what had happened to me when Ione had hatched, I tried to warn Nick…

"Nick don't do that! You'll…"

Too late. Nick screamed louder than I thought possible, as he fell to the ground, shaking."

Eragon looked at him with sympathy, while I dropped to my knees next to my agonized brother. I knew exactly what he felt like, having only experienced it two days before.

"He'll be okay right?" I asked the more experienced Rider.

"Yes, you felt it yourself when you and Ione created your mental link."

Then Andy came stumbling over to where we were.

"Whasgoinon?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Then, his eyes widened as he saw Nick writhing on the ground, though Nick didn't appear to be in quite as much pain as he had been before.

"What happened!?!" He nearly shouted while, Saphira, whom I noticed for the first time had been hunting, landed about 10 feet away.

"A dragon has hatched for Nick." Eragon said solemnly

Nick was now lying on the ground, still shaking, though he didn't appear to be in much pain anymore.

Ione, who had been silent the entire time, though she had been sending me a constant stream of emotions, finally began talking to me.

_This is amazing! I had thought that I would have been the only dragon besides Saphira in the Varden._

_Not anymore, though this is amazing to me too. That another dragon hatched, and for Nick!_

_What are you going to do now? Nick and Eragon were having the argument earlier over what to do._

_I think we should stay with Eragon, actually that is what we will do. I don't care what Nick thinks. I think that it will be the safest for us._

_Good, I was hoping you would say that, I really do not want to be hunted by hundreds of soldiers._

_Me neither…_

Our conversation ended because Nick had finally sat up, and was staring at the glowing silvery red scar on his hand, while the coppery orange dragon walked around him.

"It will be fine. It was your dragon creating a connection with you." Eragon explained to him.

_It is getting light, we need to leave _Saphira noted, projecting her thoughts to everyone.

For the first time, we humans noticed that the campfire's light was not the only one.

"She is right." Eragon said, "We need to leave. Nick, I will explain everything to you after we have left."

My dazed brother, who was stroking the orange dragon, nodded, then began to help us clear the area nearby.

It took us about five minutes to clear the camp, of everything, including the makeshift wooden swords Eragon had made the night before. While Eragon used magic to clear the area of all tracks, I took a moment to braid my hair, so that it wouldn't fly in my face while we were in the air.

My hair was a strange very very dark brown, which looked almost black. It was a shade of hair I had only seen on other people a few times in my life. Even my brothers had much lighter hair than I did, though their hair was still an average brown color hair.

When Eragon had cleared our tracks, and we were all seated on Saphira's back, she took off.

While we were in the air, first Eragon and Saphira explained to Nick what had happened, while Ione and I listened to them, storing this information in our heads. We did not land for two days, during which time Ione had reached the size of a very large dog, and Eragon and Saphira conveyed information to us about the Varden and the Riders. We also discussed the events of the past few days, especially how we had run into Ione's, the orange dragon's and the white eggs.

**Alright, so there progressing to Feinster. The next chapters may take place over a longer amount of time, because it's been 9 chapters, over the course of 4 days, 6 if you count the two I added in at the end. I am also making Ione grow a bit faster than Saphira did, because I want her to be flying by the time they arrive at Feinster. On a different note, I'm curious as to why chapter 7 has more hits than chapter 6, because wouldn't you need to chapter 6 before reading chapter 7. Strange. Anyway, please review this chapter. I probably will update soon, because I have several scenes playing themselves out in my head, but review anyway.**


	10. Chapter 10

Alright, yes I am finally updating after more than 3 weeks, but this chapter was hard to write. I had re-written it 3 times before I was satisfied with this version of chapter 10. Again thank you to Hazelcloud, Ryuu814, Writer of the North and Zinx1 for reviewing. But that's about all I have to say, so without further ado, her's chapter 10.

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 10

You Can Fly!

When we finally landed two days later, I was very glad. Ione, who was much longer than she had been two days ago, was also nearly too large for all of us to sit comfortably on Saphira. Saphira, who had been nearly falling out of the air through pure exhaustion, curled up under a small group of birch trees, and fell asleep immediately.

Eragon pulled out Brisingr and began practicing. Soon after, both Nick and Andy joined him soon, and so Eragon put the elven-made sword away and the three began sparring with the wooden swords Eragon had made four days previously. Eragon, of course, was winning easily, though he seemed a little preoccupied. Occasionally, he even seemed to shake, though it couldn't possibly be from exhaustion as his strength was probably more than twice my own. The orange dragon, who still hadn't begun to speak yet, was watching them with interest.

I however, declined the offer to practice with the swords. Instead, I sat down next to Saphira, leaning against a tree. I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

Sometime later, I was awakened by Ione sometime later, by her nudging my arm with her wing.

_What? _I groaned mentally

_The other dragon has been talking to Nick._

_What!_

_I mean exactly what I said._

I opened my eyes and stood up in the cool evening air. I must have been asleep for more than an hour, because the sun was very close to setting. We had left the desert behind the previous evening, so the air was somewhat humid, though quickly cooling down. There was a slight breeze, causing the thin leaves of the birch trees to rustle softly.

I quickly walked over to where the boys were standing around the rather small copper colored dragon. Nick seemed a little amazed, but at the same times he was suggesting names to the copper dragon, as were Eragon and Andy. Eragon was mainly suggesting names that must have come from ancient dragons, while Andy was just suggesting random names, some from mythical creatures in books. Nick was mostly suggesting names with meaning.

"Iormungr"

"Synge"

"Icefyre"

"Eridor"

"Plamen"

"Fintan"

"Smaug"

"Andy, he was evil." Said Nick

"So what?"

"I'm not going to name him after an evil dragon."

"He is picking his own name, a dragon picks his or her own name, they are not named by their Rider, which is why we have waited until he was old enough to speak before he picks a name." said Eragon.

"I knew that," said Nick, then he suggested to the dragon, "How about Embyr?"

The gedwey ignasia on Nick's hand began glowing, and a smile spread across his face as he announced, "His name is Embyr."

"That's an interesting name." I said.

"Oh, you are awake." Eragon finally noticed.

"Yes, about time you noticed." I said, "Ione woke me once Embyr began to speak. By the way, how long are we going to stay in this place, from the way you and Nasuada sounded, it is rather urgent that we get to that city as soon as possible."

"Yes, it is urgent, but Saphira needs to rest. Carrying only me we might have reached there in less than a week, but carrying all of us and both of the younger dragons, I estimate we may reach there in possibly a week."

_Julia, _said Ione, _Tell Eragon that I think I may be able to fly, though I haven't tried it yet, but I would if it would help Saphira._

_Of course_

I relayed the message to the other Rider

"Aye, that would be a great help if she could fly, and we may be able to reach Feinster faster." replied Eragon.

Ione nodded once then began running towards nothing in particular, while flapping her wings. After running a few yards she lifted her claws off the ground and was flying! It only lasted a few seconds, though before she had to land again.

_Well, I flew, but I'm going to try that again. _She said to me.

This time she managed to fly, and so Ione circled above our heads before landing to a small applause. Exultation flooded my mind as Ione smugly folded her wings.

"This is wonderful!" Eragon exclaimed, "This will allow us to reach the Varden much faster!"

I grinned, "Well, as long as we are going to reach the city in about a week, I'm going to need practice with the sword."

We practiced sword fighting late into the evening, though this time, my siblings and I faced each other, while Eragon demonstrated and gave instruction. Long after the sun had set, Saphira woke up and we were on our way again, Ione flying alongside us this time.

Five days later, with only a few stops for the dragons to catch up on sleep, we were able to hear the sounds of an army assembling and saw the Varden on the horizon.

**Yes! They're finally near Feinster! I know I skipped several days, but I don't think I can possibly fill up another chapter with their journey. So, now there will be some action, yay! But I am also demanding 5 reviews before I update, so please please please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello again, and yes I know you are all surprised I am updating again. I am very very sorry for taking two and a half months to update, so in return I wrote two chapters. I would also like to thank the people who reviewed the last chapter, topgun1191, Writer of the North, Shur'tugal, Dohnutninja1337, Volant au-dessus, SJ, and Ryuu814. Thank you very much to all and now on with the story.**

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 11

Into Battle

In the five days that we flew before reaching the Varden, a few things of importance happened. Embyr learned to fly, though he was unable to carry a person, which he first tried the day before we reached Feinster, and Ione had grown about to the size of a large ox. Ione began carrying me the day after realizing she was able to fly, though she was unable to do this for more than two hours at first and still no more than three hours at a stretch even by the time we had reached Feinster. This was how I learned what Andy had named, much to the dragons' disapproval, "dragon-jumping."

Because we found it too difficult and time consuming to find a place to land every two hours while I climbed off one dragon and on to another, Nick came up with the idea. Dragon-jumping consisted of the dragon I was about to fly on flying about twenty feet to below the side of the one I was riding. I would then swing both legs to one side of the dragon I was riding while holding either Eragon or Nick's hand, which in turn would have a firm grip on Saphira's saddle.

Then I would slide off one dragon's back to fall and land on the back of the other. To land on the other dragon, I would land with one knee on their back before sliding into the saddle (Of course having taken off my softball cleats), and my knee was covered by a sliding kneepad, which I had been wearing during the softball game. Nevertheless, my landing on the dragon would still knock them down a few feet in the air, Ione much more than Saphira and it hurt my knee and legs too. Dragon-jumping was neither easy nor safe, but it was faster, more efficient, and less visible to the villages below, so we continued this way of switching from one dragon to the other.

A day before we reached Feinster, I saw the first section of an army which must have been heading toward the battle. After that, lines of armed men marching below began to appear with ever increasing frequency. All of us tried to avoid thinking about what would happen when we reached Feinster. I focused on thinking of ways of getting back to Earth, each more desperate and impossible than the last, while trying to shut out the rest of the world, and at other times conversed with Ione.

At last after five days, only a few hours before dawn, we were able to see the armies and the city near on the horizon as well as hear the assembling armies. As we grew closer, the formerly faint glow near the horizon developed into thousand of individual lights, from torches, to handheld lanterns, to cook fires, to huge fire heating up cauldrons of pitch. From these dim and far away lights I was able to see the spear points, swords and helmets of those at the base of the walls surrounding the city, which were full of tiny people firing arrows at those below, pouring what must have been hot oil, and pushing back the wooden ladders ceaselessly being placed against the walls of the besieged.

Shouts and screams echoed up from below, along with the constant boom of the battering ram crashing against the city gates. The sights, smells and sounds all made my stomach churn, and I turned away, focusing my concentration on one of Ione's purple scales. I didn't notice anything else, concentrating solely on the scale before me, until a familiar pressure began pressing on my mind. Breaking my concentration I loosened the band guarding my mind and Eragon's voice entered.

_Now as you can see we are very near the city. The Varden is of course expecting me to fight, but none of your skills are quite enough to enter battle, despite that you are Riders. _

_Of course we understand _said Nick quickly _just tell us where to go_

_Good, I'm glad you understand. _Eragon said. _Embyr, do you think that you can carry anyone on your back?_

_No, lifting my own weight even enough to keep up with Saphira is a strain_ came the reply

_Then Ione, do you think you are able to carry all three?_

_No, I can carry either Julia or Nick along with Andy, but not all three._

Eragon then took a moment to talk to Saphira before relaying their decision.

_Since Julia is the tallest, is a woman, and therefore the least likely to be challenged by soldiers, and has some knowledge of sword fighting, should it come to that, Saphira and I agree that she should come with us. Ione, and Embyr, will you fly with Nick and Andy to an area beyond the main armies and camps?_

_Of course _they said together

_But, _Ione added_ where will Julia go? _

Saphira responded _we will leave her among the back ranks of the Varden. If possible with Nasuada, or other commanders, who should accept her because she is a Rider, if not with them then with the healers? _

Eragon added, _It is of great importance that we protect all of you from being captured or killed by enemy soldiers, lest they discover your status as Riders and deliver you to Galbatorix, or use you Andy, to force your brother or sister to surrender themselves._

Nick and Andy quickly changed places with me by dragon-jumping, before we said goodbye and the two younger dragons flew off in the opposite direction. A minute later, Saphira, almost upon the city, said, _Young one, cover your ears. _A moment later Saphira let loose a roar that vibrated inside me and painted the sky before us in a blue sheet of fire, which after ward left me unable to see until my eyes readjusted to the dark.

Below us the Varden at the foot of the city paused, and a moment of silence enveloped the battlefield, before the combatants responded to Saphira with a roar of cheers and banging of weapons on shields from the Varden, and groans of despair from the people of the city. Eragon stiffened a second later as all of us felt a consciousness touch each of our own.

_Eragon! Saphira! _The woman said _you're just in time! Arya and another elf scaled the walls, but they were trapped by a large group of soldiers. They won't survive another minute unless someone helps them! And who is with you?_

_Never mind that, she's a friend. _Eragon replied.

_Good, but Hurry! _And then the woman's conscious vanished, while Eragon said, _I'm sorry but we must help! _To me!

Saphira tucked her wings close to her body and tipped into a steep dive, while Eragon ducked his head head against the wind, and leaned toward Saphira's neck, and I on toward his back. The world spun as Saphira rolled to her right to avoid arrows, while I hung on to the saddle for dear life. I faintly heard Eragon speak some words in what must have been the Ancient language, before I found myself stuck to the saddle and unable to move. I felt a bit of g-force pressing on my back as Saphira pulled out of the dive, before she leveled out and it vanished. The arrows shrieked as they whistled past, some missing, but Eragon deflecting the rest with magic.

Saphira swooped over the city wall and roared again, before she lashed out, knocking screaming people off of them. I closed my eyes against the horror, but my hands were firmly stuck to the saddle and the noises still resounded clearly through my ears. Saphira's flying though was even worse and more disorienting with my eyes closed however, so I opened them to see a tall tower with four huge weapons like huge crossbows. They shot huge spears at the Varden outside the city gates, and inside the walls were a hundred or more soldiers around a pair of warriors, one female one male, and both impossibly fast, but still trying desperately to fend off the many thrusting blades.

Saphira jumped down and landed in the middle of the soldiers, crushing several as she did so, and I winced imagining their fate. The rest of the soldiers scattered, screaming, even as she roared and whipped her tail, flattening another dozen or more soldiers. I shut my eyes at this and Saphira moved again, which must have ended the life of a soldier as I heard a snap, probably of the man's spine.

Eragon spoke another few words, releasing me from Saphira's saddle, so I opened my eyes.

Eragon pulled the straps on his legs tying him to the saddle loose, and then jumped to the ground, landing on one knee. He pushed himself to his feet.

"Eragon!" The female elf, who must have been Arya, cried, running toward us while I, a little more clumsily slid out of the saddle and landed on the ground. Arya wore little armor and a helm painted black.

"Are you hurt?" Eragon asked. Both Arya and elf with blue fur beside her were covered in blood.

Arya shook her head, and Blodhgarm said, "A few scratches but nothing serious. But who-" He began before Saphira cut him off.

_What are you doing here without reinforcements? _Asked Saphira.

"The gates," said Arya, gasping, "For three days we've tried to break them, but they're impervious to magic, and the battering ram has barely dented the wood, so I convinced Nasuada to stage tonight's attack so that we could…" Arya stopped from exhaustion and Blodhgarm picked up.

"Arya convinced Nasuada to stage tonight's attack so we could sneak into Feinster without being noticed and could open the gates from within. Unfortunately we encountered a trio of spell casters. They engaged us with their minds and prevented us from using magic while they summoned soldiers to overwhelm us with sheer numbers. But who are you?" he asked, addressing me.

"This is Julia. We met while I was coming back from Ellesmera, and a dragon hatched for her very soon after." Both elves' eyes widened in shock, and Arya began, "But how? Galbatorix still has hold-" but Eragon cut her off saying. "We have not the time to explain right now."

"Very well then." Said Blodhgarm to Eragon, then to me, "Well met and congratulations Shur'tugal"

"Yes, well met indeed." Said Arya.

"Well met." I responded, repeating the strange phrase, before Eragon asked Blodhgarm, "Where are the spell casters now?"

"They seem to have taken fright at your appearance Shur'tugal." Replied Blodhgarm.

_As well they should. _Saphira added.

"Well then," Eragon said, "Let us go open the gates for the Varden, shall we?"

"Yes and without delay." Said Arya. Eragon picked up one of the swords from the dead soldiers and handed it to me.

"Here. Use these if you can, otherwise move aside for someone else to complete the task."

Arya started forward before noticing Eragon's weapon.

"You have a new sword."

Eragon nodded, "Rhunon helped me forge it."

"And what is the name of your weapon Shadeslayer?" asked Blodhgarm.

Eragon began to answer before four soldiers ran out of an alleyway. Eragon drew his sword quickly and in a smooth motion, decapitated the first. Meanwhile I took the sword Eragon had given me and with two hands brought it down on the spear of another, breaking it in half, and bringing it back up, swung it like a softball bat to take the man's head off. Arya leaped forward to stab another before he could react, and Blodhgarm leaped sideways and tackled the last soldier, killing him with a dagger.

"Hurry!" Arya yelled, and she started to run toward the city gate.

_On me! _Saphira said, and I clambered onto her back before she followed Eragon and Blodhgarm after Arya, her claws clacking loudly on the stones of the street. Archers fired at us, and thrice soldiers flung themselves at us, each time, Eragon, Arya or Blodhgarm cutting down the attackers, or else Saphira blasted them with fire.

The sound of the Varden's battering ram became louder as we approached the city gates, and I saw three people, all wearing dark robes, chanting and swaying with upheld arms.

They stopped when they noticed Eragon, the elves, Saphira and I, and ran up the main street.

Eragon and the elves did not follow them, but continued toward the gates. Before we reached them however, fifty or more soldiers streamed out of the gates. One of the soldiers pounded the hilt of his sword against the shield and shouted, "Never shall you pass foul demons! This is our home and we shall not allow Urgals and elves and other inhuman monsters to enter. Be gone, for you shall find naught but blood and sorrow in Feinster!"

Arya pointed and a second later nodded, before she and Blodhgarm disappeared into the shadows from the houses lining the streets. Meanwhile Saphira was leaning back on her haunches and I was gripping the saddle as I could, preparing for her to spring. Eragon though put his hand on her front leg and his voice sounded in mine and Saphira's minds.

_Wait _he said_ let me try something first. _

**Thank you, readers for bearing with me for this extremely long chapter, and as a reward here is another.**

**But please review this one.**


	12. Chapter 12

Here is the next chapter I'm updating with. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. To those of you who go directly to the newest chapter, I updated with a chapter before this one, both at the same time. Enjoy this chapter.

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 12

Opening the Gates

_If it doesn't, then may I tear them to shreds? _Saphira asked, licking her fangs.

_Yes, then you may do what you want with them._

_Do you want me to help? _I asked

_No! _Eragon said. _Remain on Saphira, whatever may happen._

He then walked toward the soldiers with his sword and shield held out to either side. Someone from above shot an arrow at him, but it stopped suddenly three feet from his chest, and it dropped to the ground. The expressions on the soldiers' faces changed from apprehensive to downright frightened.

"My name is Eragon Shadeslayer! Perhaps you have heard of me, perhaps you have not. In either case know this! I am a Dragon Rider, and I have sworn to help the Varden remove Galbatorix from his throne. Tell me, have any of you sworn fealty in the Ancient Language to Galbatorix or the Empire…Well, have you?"

The same man, who cursed at us before said, "We should not swear fealty to the king even if he held a sword to our necks! Our loyalty belongs to Lady Lorana. She and her family have ruled us for generations, and they've done a good job of it, too!" The other soldiers murmured assent and I narrowed my eyes.

"Then join us!" Eragon cried. "Lay down your weapons, and I promise no harm shall come upon you or your families. You cannot hope to hold Feinster against the combined might of the Varden, Surda, the dwarves, and the elves."

"So you say," shouted one of the soldiers, "But what if Murtagh and that red dragon of his were to come here again?"

Eragon hesitated before saying, "He is no match for me and the elves who fight with the Varden. We have already driven him off once before."

To the left of the soldiers, out of the corner of my eye I saw the two elves sidle out from behind a staircase and creep to the left guard tower. Lowered my gaze, so none of the soldiers followed my eyes and saw what I saw.

The captain said, "We might not have pledged ourselves to the king, but Lady Lorana has. What will you do to her? Kill her? Imprison her? No, we will not betray her trust and allow you to pass, nor the monsters clawing at our walls. You and the Varden hold nothing but the promise of death for those who have been forced to serve the Empire!"

" Why couldn't you have left well enough alone, eh, Dragon Rider? Why couldn't you have kept your head down so the rest of us could live in peace? But no, the love of fame and glory and riches are too great. You had to bring wreck and ruin to our homes so that you could satisfy your ambitions, and ruin also those who blindly or madly follow you, as the young woman does. Well, I curse you, Dragon Rider! I curse you with all my heart!"

"I do not wish to kill you, but I will if I must. Lay down your weapons!"

Arya silently opened the door of the guard tower and slipped inside; Blodhgarm crept behind toward to the other tower and was opening the door before I looked away again.

The captain of the soldiers spit at Eragon's feet, though he missed horribly.

"You don't even look human yourself! You're a traitor to your race, you are!" The man picked up his shield and slowly walked toward Eragon. "Shadeslayer," he growled, "Ha, I'd as soon believe my brother's twelve year old son killed a Shade as a youth like you."

Positive these were fighting words; I took a firm grip on the dead soldier's sword, but Saphira told me to wait. When the captain was only a few feet from Eragon, Eragon stabbed his enchanted blade right through the captain's shield, armor, and body until it was out his back. When Eragon was sure that the captain was dead, he pulled his blade free of the carcass. Chains began to rattle, and none other than Blodhgarm and Arya flung the gates open.

"Lay down your weapons or die!" Eragon yelled as around twenty soldiers ran at him, yelling, with their blades drawn. The rest either fled or did as Eragon had commanded them. Eragon cut through the running soldiers, and I tried to dismount Saphira to help, but she ordered me _Stay where you are! It's safer!_

Saphira knocked two of the soldiers over, and set another two on fire while I did all I could to decapitate them or at least distract them while Eragon finished them off.

Arya and Blodhgarm emerged from the guard towers as the gates creaked and swung outward, revealing the Varden's battering ram. The archers on the parapet above yelled and ran to more defensible positions even as dozens of hands and arms appeared on the edges of the gates and pulled them further open, revealing hundreds of the Varden's soldiers.

**Hope you liked this chapter, I promise to update with the next one by this weekend. Please Review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**As promised, here is the next chapter. And thank you very much to FlameWing41 for reviewing, I really appreciate it. To the rest of you who read this, please review or I may start demanding reviews again. But, here's the next chapter.**

Vakna Unin Alagaesia

Chapter 13

Meeting People

They shouted greetings to Eragon before he pointed to the soldiers who had surrendered and ordered them to be bound but treated well.

_You may come down now. _Saphira said to me gently. I did dismount, but I stayed pressed against her side for fear of being crushed by the hordes of soldiers rushing into the city, creating a thunderous noise with their boots, weapons and armor. One man, who looked around 18 years old, raised his hammer and ran toward us. Eragon grasped him and the two men hugged roughly.

"About time you got here," the man said. "We've been dying by the hundreds trying to take the walls. And who is the woman next to Saphira? I assume she is with you?"

Eragon replied, "Saphira and I got here as fast as we could." He then motioned for me to join them. "This is Julia. We met as Saphira and I came back from Ellesmera, along with her two brothers. I'll explain the rest later. Julia, this is my cousin Roran."

"Well then, welcome Julia." Roran said as we shook hands. "I'm afraid you've not arrived under the best of circumstances, but it is what it is."

Eragon then said to Roran, "Once this is over you'll have to tell me every thing that's happened to you since I left."

Roran nodded and asked, "Where did you get the sword?"

"From the elves."

"What is it called?"

"Bris-" Eragon started, but eleven other people, elves from their looks, surrounded us and Arya and Blodhgarm also rejoined us, Arya cleaning her blade from blood. Then another man on a brown horse rode to Eragon and said, "Shadeslayer! Well met indeed!"

Eragon greeted him in turn, and before the man could ask, Eragon said, "This is Julia, she's a friend and is of importance of the Varden, but there is not the time to explain now. Only know that she doesn't work for Galbatorix or the Empire. Julia, this is Jormundur, second in command of the Varden's troops. Jormundur, can you please have someone lead her to the healers' tent, or at least out of the fighting?"

The man nodded, and called to one of the other soldiers before addressing me.

"Can you ride?"

"Yes, but barely." The only experience I had ever had riding a horse was for an hour and a half at a summer camp when I was thirteen.

"Can you stay on a horse?"

"Yes."

"Good. This is Frith," Jormundur said indicating the soldier who was on a black horse and had a white one beside him. "He will lead you to the healers' tent."

Jormundur gave the man a few more instructions as Eragon said to me, "I will have Nasuada send for you when the fighting is over."

And with that I put my foot in a stirrup on the horse's back and swung myself up into the saddle of the white horse. With Frith holding the reins and leading both horses at a pace between a trot and a gallop, we rode out of the city gates and away from the city.

**Thanks for reading this story and please please please please REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here you go, as promised here chapter 14. I am extremely sorry for not updating in so long. Enjoy the chapter though!**

As we rode away from the city, my thoughts fell upon the death I had just caused, and the ones during the battle for Embyr's egg and the white one. I tried to change my thoughts and focus on something, anything, else, but hey continually drifted back to the lives I had taken. The blood pouring from their bodies, the looks on their faces, the way their eyes quickly, but seemingly taking forever, had been full of rage and determination, then shock and pain, then hopelessness, before fading to blank lifeless stares. The way they had….Somehow these visions flooded through my mind, and try as I might, I could not make the apparitions disappear. I knew that all of the people I had killed had tried to take my life, but this fact little consoled me. It reminded me of a passage from one of my favorite books, _The Warrior Heir_. I must hgave subconsciously remembered the words, and somehow my thoughts turned to them, their meaning more clear to me than ever before. In the book, Hastings, a trainer was with his student, Jack, who refused to kill another warrior, even a ghost.

'_What will you do, Jack, when someone really tries to kill you?' he asked._

'_Then I suppose I will kill them back' Jack replied._

'_You can't kill them back,' Hastings replied, 'Because by that time you'll be dead.'_

_Jack got the point. 'So I suppose I'll have to kill them first.'_

Like Jack, my life had turned into a nightmare. Like him, I have had men try to kill me. Knowing that once I was dead, I would never be able to kill them, I killed them first, and had, myself become a murderer. Unlike Jack though, this wasn't a book, at least not to me, not a figment of someone's imagination. It actually happened, and was all too morbidly, horribly, physically real.

I was interrupted from my thoughts, an interruption for which I was glad for, as we entered what must have been the healers' tents. They were about a half mile from the gates of the city, near the back ranks of the army. The tents themselves were very long, stretching about the 150 feet in length and they were probably about 20 feet wide. People, women mostly, bustled in and out of the tents, carrying various instruments of medical care. A few wearing robes carried nothing, but hurried from tent to tent. Frith stopped the horses in front of the first one, and helped me to dismount, before nodding and heading back to the city at a full gallop.

I stood for a moment before the tent, unsure of what to do. I didn't stand there long though, because a woman carrying an armful of cloth came out of another tent and walked to where I was standing. She saw me and asked, "Here to help?" I only nodded mutely, before she said, "Well don't just stand there! Come along." And she bustled me into the tent.

The moment I entered the tent, my senses were besieged in such a way that I would never wish upon anyone. The entire atmosphere was that of death. It was dark, but I could still make out the shapes of men disfigured by war and disease. In addition I could hear the soft moans of the agonized men. The air was inside was stifling and hot, and the smell nearly made me faint. The air reeked of disease, of sweat, of blood, of the flesh rotting of men's bones while they were still alive. Of Death. It was enough to make me want to go run until I reached clean fresh air, far, far away from this war. However, the woman continued to lead me further inside the tent, to another woman who was tending an armless man, who had wounds all over his face, arms and chest. The woman looked up from the bandages she was wrapping around the man's arm, and the woman who had brought me into the tent, said, "Another one here to help." The woman with the bandages nodded, and asked me, "Do you know how to wrap bandages." I shook my head. "Apply poultices?" I shook my head again. "Give medical treatment at all?" I shook my head again. I knew extremely little about medicine beyond band-aids and ibuprofen. "Not, really." I said. The woman sighed, but said, "Well I suppose you can learn. For now, you can make bandages." She handed me the cloth that the other woman had carried into the tent and showed me how to rip it into long strips that could be used as bandages. I sat down in a chair resigned to my task.

Several hours later after the battle must have ended, I had learned not only how to make bandages, but also how to tie them, how to treat wounds, how to make several poultices and how, where and when to apply each one. I had gotten over my disgust at the blood and gore hours ago. That's when the messenger came.

The boy poked his face through the flap of the tent and asked, "is any of the women here named Julia?"

"That would be me." I said, wiping my hands and nervously coming forward.

"Eragon and Nasuada would like to see you." he said, beckoning me.

I followed him out of the tent to where he had two horses waiting. He deftly hoisted himself into the saddle of one, and I clumsily clambered onto the back of another. Then, kicking his horse in the side it began to move forward at a trot, and I followed suit, deathly afraid of falling off the horse or that it might do something unexpectedly. In this way we set off through the camp to the commander's tent.

**Yes, yes I know, a chapter of pretty much nothingness, but I will have chapter 15 up later today as promised, and that one is probably a bit more interesting.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm a terrible person, i know. I promised to have this chapter out months ago and its taken this long. I am working on it again though, so hopefully I will start publishing regularly now. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, _AlphieBet,_ _arandomreviewer_, and _YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY. _I really appreciate all those who review. Also thanks to _tkb17, _for betaing, and to both _tkb17_ and _I'm-The-Angel-of-Darkness f_or advice with the story. Thanks as well to all those who read the story! Enjoy the chapter!**

We arrived at the commander's tent some 20 minutes later, and I somehow managed not to fall off of the horse, and when I slipped off it the boy guiding it sped off. As I approached the red pavilion I could hear arguing from inside. That must have been the reason that the tent was so far removed from the rest of the camp.

"The resemblance is uncanny." came one female voice, "Remarkable, even if she is not related."

"It is still easily possible though that she is not." Said a male voice, Eragon's it seemed. "There are thousands of people in Alagaesia. I am certain that some have a resemblance to _him_. The fact remains that the eggs have hatched, and that they have all sworn in the Ancient Language not to be working for Galbator-"

"-They knew the words in the Ancient Language?" interrupted another female voice, with a slightly different accent.

"No, of course not. I instructed them on the words to say. As I was saying, they do not seem to be working for Galbatorix. Nor does she seem to be related to him, though the similarity in their features is rather... unnerving." continued Eragon.

"But if they, or even she, is working for one of the Varden's enemies then taking them into our confidence would make it all to easy for Galbatorix to destroy us. They could easily be a well placed trap that would bring us down…" the voices hushed as I approached.

"I am Julia. I was sent for." I told the guard outside.

He nodded and pulled back the front flap to the tent, announcing, "Julia..." he looked toward me for the title to announce with my name. I shrugged back, unsure of this myself. After all, "Pierce" is hardly a common surname in this strange land.  
He turned back toward the tent. "Miss Julia was requested for audience."

"Enter." came the first female voice from within.

I walked into the rather small tent, bare on the inside except for a wooden table, a few chairs, and a large velvet bag on top of the table... and, of course, the people inside. A dark-skinned woman sat behind the table, whom I recognized as Nasuada. Eragon sat to her right, and Arya to Eragon's right. Eragon rose to greet me, though the other two stayed seated.  
I could hardly help but notice the aura of the room, and it was quite obvious that I was in the presence of several great leaders.

When Nasuada spoke, her voice was commanding, dignified, and full of authority. "Ahh... Julia, how nice to meet you in person. You have clearly met Eragon, and Arya as well?"

The last part became a question, and I nodded both in answer and greeting. The elf, I noticed, studied me, allowing no emotion to slip through to her face.

"Excellent." Nasuada replied. "We have not much time, so I will be direct. Under ordinary circumstances the Varden would be quite welcoming to any newcomer. But that is not the case here. The way in which you have come to be before me is quite alarming, and that a dragon's egg has hatched for you complicates matters even more so. I need to be absolutely certain that you are not, nor will you, serve any enemy of the Varden."

"Of course-" I began, but Nasuada held up her hand cutting me off.

"I need to be certain of this for the safety of the Varden."

Arya continued, speaking for the first time. "The only way to be completely certain is for you to swear in the Ancient Language. You will do this?"

I nodded mutely.

"Then repeat what I say."

She spoke some words that I did not understand, but I repeated the sounds. After doing this several more times she was satisfied, and nodded to Nasuada.

"Very good," continued the leader of the Varden, " Now, simply by having the dragon claim you as her Rider, you are no longer a pawn in this game. Henceforth, you must understand, every small gesture, every word you speak can have enormous consequences. Something you might say carelessly could change the course of this war. Be warned."

I was reeling with thought. It really wasn't until this moment that I realized exactly what I had, unintentionally, gotten myself into. Before now it was all still fantasy, a dream that I would wake up from at any moment. It had all still been part of another world, and a fictional one at that. Now I was buried into the heart of a war, a key player. Yes it was perhaps a fictional war... In one sense, but if it was then I was fictional too. And this war was all too real. It was not actually a fantasy. I could be hurt. Even possibly, no _likely_ killed by the weapons and people involved, for no reason other than having had a dragon claim me as her own. My brothers were in the same position. It was terrifying.

"What if I don't want to fight? This isn't my war, and I never asked for this to happen to me."

"You have no choice." Nasuada spoke in a stern voice, leaving no room for discussion. " As a Rider you are one of the most important people in this conflict, and a very powerful tool to the one you serve. Whether you like it or not, you are now priceless player in this game of battle we play. You will be forced to serve one side or another. You are either with the Varden, or you are with Galbatorix. The sooner you accept this the better. Choose your side. There is no neutral ground."

**Yes, yes I know, Its a short chapter and a cliffy as well. I'll see if I can't get the next chapter written by tonight and see if my beta can take a look at it by tomorrow. **


	16. Chapter 16

** A/N: Alright! I finally got inspired enough to write! Pretty much the story came to mind on the way the way to softball practice, and wouldn't leave until I had updated (it resulted in a lot of focus on the story rather than on pitching, but whatever, you probably don't care what happened as long as I updated so this doesn't matter) I am now on summer vacation, so you can probably expect a few more regular updates, although I promise nothing. Also, for those of you who don't already know, book 4, _Inheritance, _is coming out in November, so I'd like to finish this before then, but at this rate, that's also probably not going to happen. Anyways, without further ado, I present to you, chapter 16.**

* * *

**Vakna Unin Alagaesia**

**Chapter 16**

**Hard Decisions**

"So it's 'join or die', then?" I asked.

"In one sense." Nasuada replied. "But not entirely. You seem to be under the delusion that if we are to let you go, you will be free to carry on as you so choose. You will not have that choice, and you will not have that choice again until this blasted war is over. The moment Ione chose you, you joined this conflict. You are not choosing to _join_, you never had that choice, you are choosing which _side_ you will take part of. If you do not join our side, you must understand that Galbatorix _will_ force you to join his. You would be, no, you _are_ one of the most powerful weapons that either army could gain, and I cannot allow the Empire to have that advantage. The Varden offers you much more freedom than Galbatorix ever would, so I am asking you to join us... even if it is only to choose the lesser of two evils."

"I'm fifteen! I never asked for any of this, and I don't want to be a part of it. You are asking me to join your army and lead men much older, wiser and more experienced than myself."

Nasuada began to say something, but Eragon held up a hand.

"If I may speak with her outside?" He asked.

Nasuada nodded. "Be quick if you can."

I followed Eragon outside the tent, to a spot out of sight of anyone else. He turned to face me after muttering a spell.

"You say you didn't ask for this, but neither did I. Neither did anyone. When Saphira hatched for me I was a sixteen year old farm boy born and raised in the mountains. I did not ask for Saphira to hatch, I did not ask to become a military leader, and I _certainly_ did not ask to be fighting in this war. I had no choice, but you must realize that it is one in a _thousand_ people who can become a dragon rider. You may not want to, but the simple fact that Ione hatched for _you_ tells me that you can do anything that becomes necessary. A Rider is one of the most powerful soldiers a commander can have, and having a dragon hatch for a person means that one must be intelligent, cunning, courageous, strong-willed and a thousand other things besides. It is nearly as hard to overcome a true team of dragon and rider as it is to stop the Sun from rising. I understand that it is hard to accept all this responsibility at once, but you are capable of _that_ and much more. I ask again; will you join us?"

"...Perhaps, except for my brothers. Neither of them is ready to join an army. If anything happened to either of them, I could never forgive myself."

Eragon sighed and ran one hand through his hair.

"That, I understand. You yourself are not even technically an adult. Nick is little more than a child, and Andy... I doubt that Nasuada intends to do much more than train Nick, and she will not use him unless it becomes absolutely necessary."

He sighed again.

"These dragons seem to have an affinity for families, or else certain families must have traits the dragons admire. If Andy were older, he would most certainly be told to touch the last dragon egg, but young as he is..." Eragon trailed off, then picked up a new train of thought.

"As it is, they are both too young to fight, and as a Rider and the family of a Rider, both of them are quite possibly the most safeguarded children in this army, save Elva, and only because of her...unique...circumstances." the Shadeslayer sighed "And Julia, you _can _do this. You can and you must. Will you join us?"

I closed my eyes. I really didn't want to do this, but the logic was beyond sound.

"Fine." I said, opening my eyes, "I'm with the Varden, but I will not swear any oaths or anything like that."

A hint of a smile spread across Eragon's face, the faintest twitch of his lips. "No, you won't have to swear anything right now. You will at some point have to swear loyalty to the Varden, simply for the people to trust you, but for now a promise never to betray or work against the Varden should be quite sufficient. Shall we then?" He said, gesturing toward Nasuada's tent.

I nodded, following him. A new chapter of my life had begun, and hopefully it wouldn't be close to the last.

* * *

**A/N: I know this way supposed to be a huge point of the story, but I kinda wanted to move on to the exciting parts, so its not that great. I'm working on another chapter, which I hope to have done by Saturday evening, but I make no promises.**

**For this chapter thank you to my self-proclaimed beta, TKB17 (I spelled it right. Be happy)**

**and those who reviewed, AlphieBet, Calista Coriana, and juniperlei.**

**In answer to juniperlei's question, yes, they will continue to use Tolkien's Elvish at some point. It takes effort to figure out the language for me though, because the only things I know how to say in Elvish are a swear word and "You smell like 10 orcs." They will use it again though, eventual**

**Enjoy the summer, and please review!**


	17. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Hello anyone who is reading this. You may have been keeping up with this story for a while, or found it and read it to this chapter and are now cursing at me because I haven't written further. Either way, I am having mulitple dillemas with this story, so I will leave it up to you the readers as to what happens to the story. The first issue is that I have mostly lost inspiration for this story. I know where it is and what I want to happen, but when I sit down to write, I can never seem to make my writing be up to my standard. Considering this, with the little free time that I have between school and other activities, I find it hard to make myself sit down to write. Additionally, I am now a somewhat different person than I was when I first started this story, so my views on some things have changed quite a bit in the last 2 years. The second problem is that Inheritance has come out. This story was originally intended to follow my own vision of Book 4. Now that it is out, obviously my version would differ greatly from the canon.

So essentially, I am giving you the readers three options as to what should happen to Vakna Unin Alagaesia.

1) I give up on the story entirely. Should this be the most popular option, I will write another author's note declaring my intention to abandon the story. I will then leave it up for one month, before deleting it from my profile.

2) I continue with the story, but follow the plotline of Inheritance as best I can. Should this be the most popular option, I will update sometime after Christmas, which is when I expect to get my hands on a copy of the Inheritance. I will say what I am doing in an author's note in the beginning of the chapter.

3) I continue with the story as I had originally envisioned it. Should this be the most popular option, I will update sometime before Christmas, since I won't need a copy of Inheritance, and I will say what I am doing with the story in an author's note at the beginning of the next chapter.

However, should I continue with the story, as with option either 2 or 3, I cannot promise that updates will become any more regular than they have been, since, as I said, I have lost a lot of inspiration that I have. But, I am willing to continue to struggle through, if that is what you want.

Please tell me your opinion either by the poll on my profile, by PM or by review. I will count up all votes on December 17, and let you know what is happening with the story by December 20. That being said, I will write again in not quite two weeks. I'll see you on the flip side.


	18. Another Author's Note

Dear Readers,

Much as it pains me to write this, I am putting Vakna Unin Alagaesia on indefinite hiatus. That doesn't mean I'm abandoning it, but I am refusing to publish another chapter until I can find it in myself to write at least five chapters of the story, so that I can update regularly. I probably will pick it up again, when I can find the inspiration to continue writing. That may be in a week, it could be in six months, but it could be never. Thank you for sticking with it this long, and thank you to those three reviewers who did express interest in my continuing the stroy, but as of right now, I find myself unable to do that.

Goodbye for now,

NimbusMM


End file.
